Project R-13403

Reasonable accommodations to alleviate work-related stress in the public and private sectors: strategies and expected outcomes (Research)

Given the rising number of employees in long-term incapacity for work due to psychological vulnerabilities, international organisations urge countries to take measures to ensure that these people remain integrated in the labour market. In that regard the Belgian government struggles with its reintegration procedure that should enable workers to pick up their previous employment after a period of incapacity for work. This system focuses on individual measures and only accounts for the impact of such measures on co-workers or on the organisation as a whole indirectly. This is detrimental to workers for whom work-related stress should be alleviated as that requires a systemic approach. Such measures will have an influence on the labour conditions of co-workers who are not personally involved with the reintegration procedures. This requires a form of flexibility of the labour relationship that is not always present in both the public and private sectors. This research project aims to give an answer to the question how reasonable accommodations to alleviate work-related stress can be managed in such a way that they lead to job retention for the employee involved whilst also minimising any negative impact on co-workers, potentially even maximising collective benefits for co-workers and the organisation as a whole.

01 January 2023 - 31 December 2024